My So-Called Enemy

SYNOPSIS

In the spirit of Michael Apted’s 7 UP SERIES, the award-winning MY SO-CALLED ENEMY has been praised as “moving, powerful, intelligent and brave” (The Nation) and “a mesmerizing, eye-opening film that shows the true power of friendship and empathy to conquer political boundaries.” (Teen Voices)

Spanning seven years, MY SO-CALLED ENEMY follows six Palestinian and Israeli teenage girls committed to justice and mutual understanding after participating in a cross-cultural women’s leadership program called Building Bridges for Peace. This heart and mind-opening film, from Emmy® Award-winning director Lisa Gossels (THE CHILDREN OF CHABANNES), documents how the young women’s transformative experience of knowing their “enemies” as human beings in the United States meets with the realities of their lives back home in the Middle East. Through the coming-of-age narratives of Adi, Gal, Hanin, Inas, Rawan and Rezan, audiences see how creating relationships across political, racial, religious, cultural and physical divides are first steps towards resolving conflict. MY SO-CALLED ENEMY presents the complexities of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict through a human lens – and the possibility and hope that come from listening to each other’s stories.

A film about building bridges of understanding in our own communities, MY SO-CALLED ENEMY celebrates diversity and inclusion, provides a platform for multi-faith and multi-cultural understanding and addresses issues of identity and “othering.”

For specific information about the core themes of the movie, relevant subject areas and target audiences, refer to the Themes page of this website.